Mini Shepherd’s Pie Cups for Kids with Turkey and Cheddar

Mini Shepherd’s Pie Cups for Kids

Ground turkey, peas, corn, and carrots form the filling for these crustless muffin-size cups. Each one gets a thick mashed-potato cap and cheddar that melts over the top. They’re soft rather than sturdy hand pies, so the filling needs to be thick before it goes into the tin. A short rest after baking makes the cups easier to lift while leaving the colorful filling visible at the sides.

Ingredients for Mini Shepherd’s Pie Cups

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for greasing the muffin tin
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion (75g)
• 1 lb ground turkey (450g)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas, corn, and diced carrots (150g)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken or beef broth (120g)
• 2 1/2 cups prepared mashed potatoes, warm and thick (550g)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (85g)

Yield: 12 mini cups; about 2 mini cups per child-size meal portion, depending on appetite. Time: 20 minutes prep, about 35 minutes cooking, plus 10 minutes cooling.

How to Make Mini Shepherd’s Pie Cups

1. Preheat and grease: Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Thoroughly grease the bottoms and sides of a 12-cup standard muffin tin. The mashed potatoes should be warm enough to spread but thick enough to hold a mound.
2. Cook the turkey: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until softened. Add the turkey and cook, breaking it into small pieces; stir in the garlic near the end. Cook for about 7 to 9 minutes total, until no raw-looking turkey remains and it reaches 165°F (75°C).
3. Thicken the filling: Stir in the frozen vegetables, tomato paste, flour, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add the broth and simmer uncovered for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring and reducing the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. The vegetables should be hot and the sauce should cling to the turkey, with no liquid pooling in the skillet.
4. Fill and top: Divide the filling among the muffin wells, using roughly 1/4 to 1/3 cup per well as the tin allows. Leave about 1/4 inch below each rim for the topping. Spread about 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes over each portion, bringing the potato toward the edges without packing the wells too full.
5. Bake, then add cheese: Bake uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. Start checking after 15 minutes; the centers should be hot and the filling should bubble gently at the edges. Sprinkle cheddar over every potato cap and bake about 5 minutes more, until the cheese is melted with only slight golden spots.
6. Cool and lift: Let the cups stand in the tin for about 10 minutes. Loosen each edge with a thin spoon or small offset spatula, then support the cup from underneath as you lift it onto a plate. Let the portions cool further before serving young children.

How Thick Should the Filling Be?

The filling should mound briefly on a spoon rather than pour off it. If broth still collects at the bottom of the skillet, keep simmering uncovered until it reduces. Without a crust to contain the filling, extra liquid makes the cups more likely to slump when lifted.

Getting the Cups Out of the Tin

These are tender mini portions, not firm pastry-shell hand pies. Grease the sides of the wells as well as the bottoms, and give the cups their full 10-minute rest before loosening them. Lift gently from below; slightly irregular sides are normal.

Prepared Potatoes and Ingredient Swaps

Leftover or prepared mashed potatoes work well if they are thick enough to form a substantial cap. If the mash is too stiff to spread, loosen it only enough to make topping the cups easier.

Ground beef can replace the turkey; drain excess fat before adding the flour and broth. The exposed filling will be darker. Cauliflower mash is a wetter variation and will not give the cups quite the same potato-topped structure.

Serve warm with fruit or a simple side. For another ground-turkey dinner, try baked turkey meatballs for kids. If you keep frozen peas on hand, pasta with peas and ham for kids is another meal to make with them.

Make-Ahead, Storage, and Reheating

To assemble ahead, cover the filled muffin tin and refrigerate it until ready to bake. Cold cups may need longer than the usual baking time; check that their centers reach 165°F.

Refrigerate cooked leftovers promptly in a covered container for 3 to 4 days. Reheat them in the oven until hot through, checking for 165°F at the center. Completely cooled cooked cups can also be frozen in an airtight container; thaw them in the refrigerator before reheating.

Nutrition

Approximate per mini cup (1 of 12): 165 calories, 11g protein, 8g fat, and 11g carbohydrates. Approximate per 100g: 140 calories, 9g protein, 7g fat, and 10g carbohydrates. Values vary with the ground turkey, prepared mashed potatoes, and finished cup size.